Flash: Birthday Surprise
by Crazedtroll
Summary: Harrison Wells gets a Surprise. Real Harrison Wells/ Caitlin Snow


The Flash: A Birthday Surprise

Harrison Wells sighed and stretched his neck as he entered the cortex; he'd gone with Mr. Allen up to the exit to wish the young man good night. He had done this for a few reasons, ever since his split from Thawne (another story entirely), the others on the team still had trust issues with him. Even Caitlin would occasionally give him a look like she expected him to get up out of the wheelchair and walk away. It didn't work like that - Thawne had been able to walk, while Harrison Wells had taken the brunt of the injuries and lost the ability to use his legs. It was how Thawne had been able to trick Caitlin and everyone else on the team

The other reason was that it was Harrison's birthday, and he'd followed Barry with the faintest of hope that the young man might remember and at least wish him a "Happy Birthday." No luck. This left Harrison to spend the rest of his birthday alone, as he logged all the data on their recent adventure into the secure computer. With Thawne's knowledge and memories, he'd been able to recover Gideon and give the team a little extra advantage. Going over to the computer, he got started on getting logged in and finishing up the files.

"Is Barry gone?" Caitlin's voice shocked him, so that he gasped a little as he looked up at her.

"Dr. Snow, I thought you'd left," Harrison said, taking a deep breath and pushing his glasses (with the clear frames) up into place.

"No." She leaned forwards, palms on the table, facing him. Looking up, he tried to figure out what she was thinking.

"Go on home, Dr. Snow. I can finish the logs for this case," he said, thinking she was here for the same reason he was. She didn't move. Instead, she stood there giving him the stink eye. "Is something wrong?"

"You didn't think you'd get away with it, did you?"

"I beg your pardon?" He had no idea what she was talking about. His life was basically an open book. In an attempt to gain their trust, he allowed somebody to monitor him at pretty much all times.

"I know your secret. I just can't believe you thought you'd get away with it." Caitlin frowned at him, shaking her head.

"Dr. Snow," he began. She cut him off before he could continue.

"Dr. Wells. I'm extremely disappointed in you. Now, if you will follow me, maybe you can redeem yourself." Standing, she arched an eyebrow at him, as if issuing a challenge. Sighing, he nodded, his hand dropping to the joystick of his chair as he moved out from behind the desk. "Excellent. This way."

"Dr. Snow, what exactly is it that I've done wrong? I've allowed you all to follow, observe, track, and monitor me for 5 months now," he said. "I'm unclear on what you think I've tried to keep secret."

"You'll see." They arrived in the garage. A lab van was already pulled forwards, the doors open, waiting. "Get in, get buckled." Giving up on getting her to talk to him, he was used to it now, he went around to the back of the van, where a ramp was down, allowing him to ride his chair up and into the van. From there he just had to transfer himself into the passenger seat while Caitlin secured his wheelchair.

A moment later they were headed out, leaving the lab behind. Instead of speaking, Harrison decided to just stare out the window. He was so tired of being mistrusted, but he couldn't blame them. Eobard Thawne had hurt them all so much. Of course, nobody seemed to consider what it had felt like for him. Thawne had not only killed Harrison's original body and Tess, he'd also used Harrison's feelings, thoughts, and memories to perpetrate his crimes. Nobody seemed to realize just how much of a prisoner he'd been, and how painful it had been to be stuck like that, never in control, even when it was his cells, his "body" taking the beating.

"The Children's Museum?" Wells asked as Caitlin pulled the van into a handicapped parking space in front of a large, colorful building. "You think I have some secret here?"

"Let's go," Caitlin said curtly. Getting out of the van, she went around to the back, helping him get back into his chair and out of the van. She stayed quiet as they entered the building, nodding at a young man wearing a "Staff" shirt. "Jay," she greeted the man.

"Upstairs," the man said. "Let me know when you're finished and headed out." Nodding her thanks, Caitlin looked back to make sure Harrison was following her before she strode across the large atrium.

Completely confused, and starting to get a little annoyed, Harrison followed her. They passed the entry kiosk, and entered the main portion of the museum. Looking around, Harrison was briefly distracted as he looked at all the different displays and a giant water clock. Realizing he was falling behind, he sped up his chair a little, focusing on Caitlin. Of course, that just led to him admiring her figure, but he did his best to stay focused. After all, he was apparently in trouble.

They ended up going all the way to the top of the museum, up four sets of ramps in the middle of the museum. It made Harrison happy he had the electric wheelchair, as he wasn't sure how he'd have felt after going all the way up in a manual. They came out on a darkened floor, and it was silent, almost creepy. He was worried now, wondering what was going on and what Caitlin thought he had to do with the place.

"Almost there, Dr. Wells," Caitlin called over her shoulder. She entered one of the many different areas, with Harrison following her, the hum of his wheelchair the only sound other than the click of her shoes. As they entered the strangely shadowed area, Caitlin vanished into the darkness.

"Dr. Snow?" Blinking, Harrison strained his eyes, trying to make sense of the odd shadows. Suddenly, all the lights went on, and there was a shout.

"Surprise!" To his shock, Barry, Cisco, and Joe were also there, huge grins on their faces. Looking around, he laughed, and then shook his head.

"You really had me worried," he told the group. "What is all this?" There was a play area and a huge old-fashioned carousel.

"Happy Birthday, Harrison," Caitlin said, stressing his name.

"Happy Birthday," Joe said. "We all went in together and rented the place for the night."

"For me?" Shocked, Harrison looked around, feeling a little pang of resentment as he looked at the carousel. He wouldn't be able to ride it. "But, why here?"

"Come on, how often do we get to act like kids?" Barry asked with a grin. "They have a climbing wall, a science section."

"A flight simulator," Cisco said with a grin.

"And a carousel," Caitlin said, waving. She saw Harrison's face fall a little. "What's wrong?"

"I'd love to ride the carousel, but, I'm a little… impaired." He looked down at the wheelchair, and then back up at the group.

"Not a problem," Caitlin said. Grabbing his hand, she started leading him around. Shocked, at both the idea of a party and the physical contact, he followed so she wouldn't pull him out of his chair. "Ramp." She pointed at a ramp, which went along the wall that curved around the carousel. At the top of the ramp, a woman in a museum shirt was waiting, with the bridge onto the carousel ready to be lowered.

"Let's have some fun," Cisco said, clapping his hands together. Grinning, he raced to the carousel, running around it as he looked for just the right animal. "Excellent. I got the tiger!" With a joyful shout, he climbed onto the animal.

"Come on." Tugging on Harrison's hand, Caitlin led him up the ramp. Smiling, Joe followed them, stopping just at the top. "Which animal do you want?"

"What do you mean?" Harrison looked up at her confused. Sure, he could get himself onto the carousel, but how was he supposed to get onto an animal.

"Just pick an animal," Joe said. Frowning, Harrison swept his gaze over the variety of animals as Barry came up the ramp to stand just behind him as well.

"The pegasus," Harrison declared. He watched as the attendant toggled a control so that the carousel spun, moving the animal in question closer to them. Once it stopped, the bridge lowered, covering the gap between the carousel and the ramp. Barry and Joe stepped forwards. "What are you doing?" Shocked, Harrison involuntarily clutched Joe as the man lifted him from his chair, and with Barry's help, got Harrison up and onto the pegasus.

"Nice choice, Harrison," Barry said, also stressing the name. "Happy Birthday." Grinning, the speedster then jogged several rows forwards where he hopped onto a cheetah. Clutching the pole that went up through the pegasus's head, Harrison looked around, watching Joe climb aboard a classic horse.

"Is this unicorn taken?" Caitlin asked, standing next to the pegasus Harrison was riding. Grinning, he shook his head. "Excellent." Standing up on tiptoes, she kissed him on the cheek, and then climbed onto the unicorn. A moment later the music started, and all five adults shouted with glee as the ride started, their animals moving up and down as they traveled the circle.

They rode it many more times that night, but they also did the rock wall, raced in little race cars, tried on dinosaur costumes, had boat races, and more. About an hour into their adventure they had cake, chocolate of with white icing, returning to their play as soon as they were all done. They finished the night on the carousel, everyone riding a different animal. When they were done, they stopped at the manager's desk, Caitlin thanking the young man, Jay, from before. He handed her an envelope. At the van, she opened it and gave everyone copies of photos from the night.

Finally, she dropped Harrison off at his house. "I hope you had a good night," she said, as she helped him out. "I'll pick you up in the morning. I'm sorry we didn't get you individual gifts."

"No, Caitlin, it was perfect," Harrison said, grinning at her as they stood just at the entrance of the huge house Eobard Thawne had left him. "I loved it. Thank you."

"Good." Grinning, Caitlin leaned forwards and planted a long kiss on his lips. As she stood and flashed another smile at him, she raced for the van, laughing. Turning to his front door, he entered, setting the framed photo of the five of them on a shelf where it was easily visible. It was the best birthday he'd celebrated in 15 long years. Hopefully he had many more to come.


End file.
